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Sunday, April 3, 2016

Area organ donor rate lower than state average

The Alpena News | Jordan Travis

Alpena county and those around it have smaller percentages of organ donors than the rest of the state, especially Northwest Michigan.

Statewide, 55 percent of adults have registered as an organ donor through the Secretary of State, Gift of Life Michigan communications specialist Betsy Miner-Swartz said. Out of Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency and Presque Isle counties, only Montmorency County comes close, with 48 percent of its adults registered. Presque Isle County is next, at 46 percent, 45 percent of Alpena County adults are registered and 42 percent of Alcona County adults are.

Compare that to Emmet County, which Miner-Swartz said has the state's highest rate in the state at 72 percent. Charlevoix County to the south has a 67 percent enrollment rate, and most of Northwest Michigan is above or near the state average.

Alpena resident Joshua Gougeon is part of the county's 55 percent who aren't signed up. He said it just never crosses his mind when he goes to the Secretary of State office, and didn't realize he could sign up online. He's not opposed to it, and his job in the medical profession has made him aware of the good organ donation can do.

"It's a good thing. I don't know why I've never signed up," he said. "I'll probably end up going in and signing up now." Continue reading

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